Mexican National Team heads to Chicago ahead of World Cup qualifiers

NEW YORK (Wednesday, February 1, 2012) – The Mexican National Team will head to New York and Chicago for their third and fourth stop of the 2012 U.S. Tour, the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF), together with Soccer United Marketing (SUM), announced today. Mexico will face Wales in a match presented by Visa on Sunday, May 27 at MetLife Stadium in the New York metropolitan area at 3:00 p.m. ET. The tour continues four days later when Mexico heads to Chicago to face Bosnia-Herzegovina in a game presented by Allstate at Soldier Field at 9:00 p.m. ET (8:00 p.m. local time). The three national teams are expected to field their top squads as the matches will be played during FIFA dates.

An exclusive Visa pre-sale for both games will begin Friday, February 3 at 10:00 a.m. local time online via Ticketmasteror by calling 1-800-745-3000.Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday, February 6 at 11:00 a.m. ET/ 10 a.m. CT online at Ticketmaster, by calling 1-800-745-3000 or at all Ticketmaster locations in the game markets. The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol invites fans to use their Visa cards.

This year marks the beginning of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches for Mexico, as “El Tri” looks to secure a spot in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Under the direction of Jose Manuel de la Torre, Mexico will use the tour matches as preparation for its qualifiers on June 8 against Guyana and June 12 against El Salvador.

Ahead of the New York and Chicago dates, Mexico’s next tour match is a highly-anticipated stop in Miami against Colombia’s full-squad on February 29, also a FIFA date. Tickets are available for the Miami game online at Ticketmaster.

México vs. Wales – MetLife Stadium, May 27, 3:00 p.m. ET

Historically, the Mexican National Team has faced the Wales squad on two occasions, with one victory and one draw favoring the North American country. Wales will arrive into New York with new manager Chris Coleman, as they prepare for the European World Cup Qualifiers in September.Wales counts on a number of English Premier League players among its roster, including captain and Arsenal midfielder, Aaron Ramsey as well as Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale, one of the most sought after left wingers in European soccer.

Mexico vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina – Soldier Field, May 31, 9:00 p.m. ET

Bosnia-Herzegovina, under the direction of former Yugoslavia World Cup player, Safet Sušić, will be Mexico’s opponent in Chicago. The two countries last met in 2011 in Atlanta, a 2-0 win for El Tri in the first match managed by De la Torre. Bosnia-Herzegovina currently ranked among the top 20 in the FIFA world rankings, counts on Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko, Emir Spahić of Spain’s Sevilla, andformer St. Louis University product Vedad Ibišević (Stuttgart).

Details for accreditation will be released in the coming days for media members who plan to cover the upcoming Mexican national team games.